Last days

Chapter 10

For the next few days, things continued. Sister Angela was impressed by my slow yet improving results. Krish was doing well, he got in touch with a guy named Kirito, who he met online on some video-game forum. Kirito was studying theoretical physics at Okinawa University, he helped Krish understand all the procedures for enrolling at the university. When he wasn't doing research about japan, we would sit in our massive library, trying to solve unsolvable math problems, Whispering jokes, and getting shushed by the librarian or the peon.

Ananya would call every now and then, the calls which I obviously would not pick up. What would I talk about I imagined? The image of her kissing some dude keeps popping up in my head every time I see her name flash.

My dad had begun to bombard me with questions about studies every night during dinner. To each, I would nod or say "It's going well,"

I decided to stick with physics, I was slowly but surely understanding it better now. Apart from the definitions, laws and numbers, I think it speaks about how the world works. Not imaginatively or figuratively but fundamentally. It's appealing if one thinks about it too much. I would continue to learn new things about the mysterious and sometimes boring subjects, for I had a small hope that I would get a chance to discuss it with Avani every morning at 5 AM.

In the summer of our grade 9, her parents send Avani and her little brother to Chandigarh, at her grandma's home. Why? She didn't tell me that. But she stayed there for the last three years, until last week. When her mother brought her back. Why? She didn't tell me that either, and neither I did venture to ask.

I guessed it was some family issues because she said she took commerce, for it was less stressful than science. True that but she wasn't the kind of girl to back down from challenges, she was the bravest girl I knew from grade 9, alright.

We would do laps around the park till she got tired, and we would talk about the mundane things and the new things I read, she would talk about her life in Chandigarh. one week passed by as I continued my mornings jogging with Avani, afternoons giving exams and messing around in school with Krish, and evenings sleeping with Ananya's nightmares, and Nights with myself and books.

***

"My uncle has this small shop of clothes in Chandigarh, every now and then My dad threatens to send me there to work," I said to Avani as we sat down on the bench after 8 laps of the park.

"Oh! I would definitely come to buy clothes there," she said with laughter.

"Please do!"

"What are you planning to do after school?" she asked.

"I don't know, yet. Haven't thought about it much. I thought me and Krish would go together to some science college in Mumbai. But now that he is leaving, I am lost."

"Why do you say he is leaving? you could say he is going."

"Because he is leaving. When he will come back; that will be not to stay, but to visit."

"That's true. You must have something in mind, about what you want to do."

"I don't know. I really like chemistry, I would like to do something with it." I said, "What about you?"

"I am in a similar position, I have no idea whatsoever. No things I like to do in particular."

"Maybe, you haven't tried many things."

"Maybe!" she said and looked up to the fading moon. "Maybe, I just want to stay with my grandma, teach at some school in Chandigarh and sleep in the garden under the sky."

"That's nice," I said, "You have a garden?"

"We have a big garden, alright!" she said as if she was already there. Moving her hands, and showing her garden to me. "Rishabh, can I call you Rish?" she looked at me for approval, I was a bit surprised, but I nodded.

"Rish, I feel like I want to stay up all night, tonight."

"Okay, Then why don't you?"

She smiled, hiding reasons. She stood up and turned to me, "Let's stay up together, a night out." she said with mischief in her eyes.

"Won't your parents worry?" I asked.

"They won't know if they won't know," she said, and I got a glimpse of the brave girl, my former classmate. Well, I could certainly sneak out from my home, my parents are heavy sleepers.

That day after the test, Krish and I sat in the library as usual. I told him about Avani and of course, he remembers the girl who ratted him out on several occasions, "Another Bus?" he asked with an amused look. "What bus?" I said.

He shook his head and said, "Girls are like buses, if one goes another comes. Don't you know that Bollywood dialogue?"

"I do, but It's not like that. We just hang out."

"Of course you do," he said and laughed. I kicked him under the table.

I have never thought about it Avani, the way I have thought of Ananya. That day I got two missed calls from Ananya. She tried contacting my mom, but I told her not to tell her I am home. "Kids nowadays!" she said whining about my request, but she went along with it anyway.

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Hey Readers ❤️! It's an exciting night out ahead!